You should know up front that I am an obsessive-compulsive, and a Harry Potter fan.
I'm not saying that the two always go together, but they do in my case, and this hideous juxtaposition throws light on this--my review of the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.

I have been heavily pen-addicted for years, trying dozens and dozens of new pens on the quest that no outsider will ever understand and all insiders know too well: the quest for the Perfect Pen, the One (viz. Oprah on Obama). So, having read some favorable and/or glowing reviews on the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, off I went to Staples and bought a ten-pack. What the hey; can't hurt; just another lonely stop along the way.

Now for my friend Harry (spoiler alert for those who've been asleep for two years).

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we learn of a legendary wand of mighty power, called the Elder Wand. It also goes by several nicknames, one of which is the Deathstick. Now, far be it from me to brag of my awesome nerditude, but during my penquest, in the heat of my pennic lust, I had conceived of something I called the Writestick--a pen, just a pen, that was simple, elegant, classic, inexpensive, trouble-free, effortless, without bells, whistles, foofraws, gadgets, fussy and overdone and obnoxious grips, or other unnecessary distractions from the millenia-old art of making meaningful marks on paper. A pen, in other words, that would be just as at home in ancient Mesopotamia as it is in twenty-first century Western Civilization.

And so, here, finally, is the point: Thirty-odd years of questing are done. The heavens have opened and dropped into my hand the Staedler Triplus Fineliner. It's a capped, porous-point pen with a very fine line, in a veritable cornucopia of vibrant colors. It is light and thin, without any "grip" as such, but the triangular cross-section makes it simply impossible to generate excess fatigue-inducing pressure; its ergonomics far exceed those of something such as the Dr. Grip pens from Pilot, for example. You simply wave this thing ("the 'swish-and-flick!'") and you're writing. No stress, no mess; deep, rich color. No skips, stutters, or scratches. Just a sort of Zen-garden awareness that you've invested nine bucks for ten pens very well indeed.

The Staedtler Triplus Fineliner is the Writestick. I need say no more. Buy it today. Now, maybe I can get some sleep...